I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to imagers and, more particularly, to a protective cover for imagers.
II. Description of Related Art
Imagers are widely used by the military, police, as well as other agencies. For example, thermal imagers are commonly mounted to military helicopters to detect thermal images on the ground.
These imagers are typically mounted within a protective housing so that a thermal sensor array of the imager is aligned with in opening in the housing. The thermal sensor array, however, is fragile. Consequently the thermal sensor array of the imager may heroine damaged from rocks and other debris, particularly during military operations. Once the thermal sensor array for the imager is damaged, continued operation of the imager is at least compromised if not completely rendered nonoperational.
Previous attempts to protect the thermal sensor array of the imager with a plastic or glass thermal sensor array have proven unsuccessful. In particular, the plastic or glass covers interfere with the thermal sensing capabilities of the imager. Such degradation of the imager is unacceptable for military and other applications.